Stability Control for Real World Testing in Autonomous Racing

Abstract

Controlling an autonomous vehicle at the limits of handling is a challenging task. Due to external influences, such as road conditions or weather, a vehicle can easily become unstable. Since most control algorithms assume stable vehicle behavior, they might fail in these situations. Especially when operating expensive vehicles without a safety driver on board, as in autonomous racing, this poses a significant challenge. To enable safe operation at the vehicle's dynamic limits, we present a comprehensive stability control system that safeguards motion control algorithms in autonomous driving. The proposed system consists of an electronic stability control (ESC), a slip control (SC), and a countersteer system (CS), which collectively adapt steering and brake commands from the motion controller to maintain vehicle stability. We validate our approach through both simulation and experiments on a real-world, full-scale vehicle. The results show that the stability control system maintains vehicle stability in critical situations and extends the operational feasible region. To simplify integration, we provide an open-source implementation at github.com/TUMFTM/tam-stability-control.